Tag Archives: amzn

Apple iCloud Shifts Spending To Google From Amazon’s AWS: Report

Apple ( AAPL ) is shifting some of its iCloud infrastructure to Alphabet ( GOOGL ) unit Google from Amazon ( AMZN ) Web Services, according to a report Wednesday. The deal was made last year, with Apple agreeing to spend $400 million to $600 million at Google Cloud, according to CRN, citing sources. CRN set it wasn’t clear if that was an annualized rate or total spending amount. This would be a big coup for Alphabet’s Google, which has been trying to make a bigger mark in enterprise cloud services, taking on Amazon’s AWS and Microsoft ( MSFT ) unit Azure. Google in November hired VMware ( VMW ) co-founder and ex-CEO Diane Green to run its cloud operations.  Streaming music giant Spotify last month said it was shifting its infrastructure over to Google Cloud. Google and Verizon Communications ( VZ ) reportedly have been in talks on a hybrid cloud partnership. Apple has never officially confirmed that it uses AWS and Microsoft’s Azure. However, Morgan Stanley recently estimated that Apple spends $1 billion a year with Amazon’s AWS. Apple also is spending billions of dollars on data centers, suggesting it may seek to reduce its reliance on cloud services firms such as AWS.

Netflix, Amazon, Akamai Benefiting From Cable Cord-Cutters

Interest in cable TV cord-cutting and cord-shaving is on the rise, according to a new survey by Robert W. Baird & Co. In its semiannual video trends survey, 51% of respondents said they are considering canceling or reducing their pay TV service. That’s up from 47% in Q3 2015 and 46% a year ago, Baird analyst William Power said in a research note Wednesday. “Consistent with our past surveys, price remains far and away the No.1 dissatisfaction with traditional cable service, followed by streaming alternatives and paying for more channels than you need, all of which feed the OTT (over-the-top TV) opportunity,” Power said. Netflix ( NFLX ) remains the clear leader in the Internet streaming-video market, but Amazon.com is gaining fast, Power said. Almost half of Netflix subscribers said they view Netflix as a substitute to traditional TV, though 82% of Netflix subscribers still subscribe to cable or satellite. Survey respondents picked “Orange Is the New Black” as the most-watched Netflix original show, followed by “House of Cards,” “Making a Murderer,” “Daredevil” and “Narcos.” Baird surveyed 1,300 U.S. Internet users, which skewed the results toward younger consumers. Roughly 15% of those surveyed were cord-cutters or cord-nevers who didn’t subscribe to traditional pay TV services. “Due in part to the online nature of our survey and its bias toward a younger demographic, Netflix penetration of 75% of respondents is much higher than Netflix’s actual U.S. household penetration of close to 50%, and we expect Amazon ’s ( AMZN ) penetration of 52% of our sample is also significantly higher than actual,” Power said. Netflix penetration in the first quarter was unchanged from the Q3 2015 survey. But the Amazon Prime subscriber rate of 52% was up from 45% six months ago, Baird said. Akamai Technologies ( AKAM ), a leading enabler of streaming services, “should be well positioned to benefit from increased streaming,” Power said. Power rates Netflix stock neutral and Akamai stock outperform. He does not have a rating on Amazon. Akamai stock rose 2.1% Wednesday and Netflix stock rose 1.5%, while Amazon shares fell a fraction.

Siri, Why Aren’t People Using Voice-Activated Personal Assistants?

Apple ’s ( AAPL ) Siri, Amazon.com ’s ( AMZN ) Alexa, Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google Now, Microsoft ’s ( MSFT ) Cortana and other voice-activated services are getting lots of attention — but they aren’t getting that much use, a new survey, as reported by eMarketer, says. Even as consumers increasingly turn to mobile phones for shopping, communicating and information, only 13% of U.S. mobile phone owners use a voice-controlled personal assistant on their device each day, says the survey from 451 Research, which was taken last June. Adding together the 13% of survey respondents who said they use such a service daily to the 14% who said they used it weekly and to the 10% who reported using it monthly, that still only comes to little more than 1 in 3 mobile phone owners who say they use a personal digital assistant at least once a month. But there are big caveats. For one, June is a long time ago for a fast-emerging technology. Moreover, at the time, fully one-third of respondents said they didn’t have a mobile phone that gives them an option to use a personal assistant, the survey said. EMarketer models the U.S. to have 177.8 million mobile phone users as of year-end, or just over half of the population. By 2018, it forecasts that there will be 207.1 million mobile phone users, or about 63% of the population. “And, as mobile devices become more sophisticated and offer options like voice-controlled personal assistants, more of those searchers may be inclined to try them out,” eMarketer said. Amazon’s Alexa is able to hail rides from Uber , play music, set timers and manipulate smart devices in homes, such as Google’s Nest smart thermostat service, among other functions. This month, Capital One Financial ( COF ) announced that it was adding a “skill” — Amazon-speak for a function — enabling customers to use Alexa to check their credit card balances or make payments. Shares of Apple and Alphabet were up about 1.5% in afternoon trading in the stock market today , while Microsoft stock was near 1.3% and Amazon.com was up a fraction.